Solar Activity Post 3 of 3

The post contains 4 consecutive frames.  The second frame displays a large surface flare up - almost like a spray - at the top of the pic.  Watching the frames in motion, it looks like a big explosion.

Equipment Summary:

1. Meade Coronado Personal Solar Telescope (PST)
2. Orion Min-EQ Tabletop Equatorial Telescope Mount
   
3. Orion StarShoot Planetary Imager
4. PHD Planetary Software - used to control camera, takes pics, and later to process the pics (e.g. stack and adjust color/clarity)

Date/Time:  8/21/10  10:00am

Location:  Backyard - Pittsburgh, PA

Seeing:  Mostly sunny, some cloudy periods

Weather:  Warm, Humid

Exposure:  10 ms x 50 images

Experience:  Very good

Notes:

1. This was my first time out using the Coronado PST and this mount.  I did not use any barlows, but next time I will.

Lessons Learned:

1. Sit in a chair for comfort.  I have a back ache from bending and kneeling.
2. Also, I'll wait for a completely sunny morning so I have less down time.
   

Next Time:

1. TBD

Enjoy!

Frame 42 - All's quiet on the sun ... relatively speaking.

Frame 43 - Look at the spray of gas over the entire top.

Frame 44 - Calming down, still a few sparks.

Frame 45 - Pretty much back to normal.

Solar Activity Post 2 of 3

The post contains 3 consecutive frames.  The middle frame displays a minor flare up.  It's a little hard to see.

Addendum after the post:  I think the top part of the middle frame may have been cut off.  I'm having difficulty keeping the top from getting cutoff, but will continue to try.  The top has a particularly bright spark.

Equipment Summary:

1. Meade Coronado Personal Solar Telescope (PST)
2. Orion Min-EQ Tabletop Equatorial Telescope Mount
   
3. Orion StarShoot Planetary Imager
4. PHD Planetary Software - used to control camera, takes pics, and later to process the pics (e.g. stack and adjust color/clarity)

Date/Time:  8/21/10  10:00am

Location:  Backyard - Pittsburgh, PA

Seeing:  Mostly sunny, some cloudy periods

Weather:  Warm, Humid

Exposure:  10 ms x 50 images

Experience:  Very good

Notes:

1. This was my first time out using the Coronado PST and this mount.  I did not use any barlows, but next time I will.

Lessons Learned:

1. Sit in a chair for comfort.  I have a back ache from bending and kneeling.
2. Also, I'll wait for a completely sunny morning so I have less down time.
   

Next Time:

1. TBD

Enjoy!

 Frame 37 - Something is about to happen ... hang tight.

Frame 38 - Click on image to see minor flare up at the top.

 Frame 39 - Back to normal.

Solar Activity Post 1 of 3

The next three posts are pics of the sun.  The pic below is a nice shot showing surface undulations.  The next two posts show some nice solar activity frame by frame.

Equipment Summary:

1. Meade Coronado Personal Solar Telescope (PST)
2. Orion Min-EQ Tabletop Equatorial Telescope Mount
3. Orion StarShoot Planetary Imager
4. PHD Planetary Software - used to control camera, takes pics, and later to process the pics (e.g. stack and adjust color/clarity)

Date/Time:  8/21/10  10:00am

Location:  Backyard - Pittsburgh, PA

Seeing:  Mostly sunny, some cloudy periods

Weather:  Warm, Humid

Exposure:  10 ms x 50 images

Experience:  Very good

Notes:

1. This was my first time out using the Coronado PST and this mount.  I did not use any barlows, but next time I will.

Lessons Learned:

1. Sit in a chair for comfort.  I have a back ache from bending and kneeling.
2. Also, I'll wait for a completely sunny morning so I have less down time.

Next Time:

1. TBD

Enjoy!

Notice the undulating solar surface.

Better Moon Shots!

Below are my latest shots of the moon.  They show some nice details, but I have some other ideas to try out next time to get even better shots ... I hope.  There's always room for improvement.

Equipment Summary:

1. Orion StarSeeker 80mm Goto Refractor
2. Orion Imaging Flip Mirror
3. Orion StarShoot Planetary Imager
4. PHD Planetary Software - used to control camera, takes pics, and later to process the pics (e.g. stack and adjust color/clarity)

Date/Time:  8/20/10  10:00pm

Location:  Backyard - Pittsburgh, PA

Seeing:  Clear

Weather:  Warm, Humid

Exposure:  10 ms x 50 images

Experience:  Very good with one hitch -- see notes below.

Notes:

1. I couldn't quite figure out the flip mirror which should allow you to have an eyepiece on top and the camera in the rear.  I sent an email to Orion customer support.

Lessons Learned:

1. For the moon, and for my setup at least, it's better to take many short duration images, and then stack (combine) them to create a single, sharper picture.  For each pic below, I stacked fifty 10 ms images.  Next time, I'll try stacking 100, 150, and 200 images to see if there's a difference in the final pic.

Next Time:

1. Sun with Meade Coronado PST.

Enjoy!

 Moon Shot 1 - Greater detail compared to pics in earlier posts

Moon Shot 1 - Similar to the above pic but without color